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The "High Valleys - Heart of the Alps" Integrated Territorial Plan

May 2019

The cross-border territory of the “High Valleys” is located in the heart of the Alps, between Savoie, Piedmont and the High Alps. It consists of 13 groups of municipalities, 147 rural mountain districts and 270,753 inhabitants spread over 6,350 km2. A cross-border strategy "The High Valleys – Smart Destination" was drawn up in order to group together the common development priorities for the coming years.

Beyond the strong historical links between the territories of the Grand Briançonnais and the Maurienne in France and the Susa, Sangone and Pinerolo Valleys in Italy, the High Valleys local authorities, which share the same cultural, environmental and sociological characteristics of mountain living, launched a cross-border cooperation initiative in the early 1990s. Since 2000, they have been brought together in a single political and technical body: the Conférence des Hautes Vallées (High Valleys Conference).

A cross-border strategy "The High Valleys – Smart Destination" was drawn up in order to group together the common development priorities for the coming years. It consists of concrete projects within the framework of the 2014-2020 Interreg programme ALCOTRA, in the form of an “Integrated Territorial Plan”: “Les Hautes Vallées, Coeur des Alpes” (“The High Valleys – Heart of the Alps”).

This plan is made up of four projects:

1. "CoeurAlp INNOVATION" to “create innovation opportunities for businesses in the cross-border territory" (led by the Briançonnais Community of Municipalities)

2. "CoeurAlp RESILIENCE" to “make the cross-border territory more resilient and safer for its inhabitants, workers and tourists” (led by the Metropolitan City of Turin)

3. "CoeurAlp ON THE MOVE" to develop solutions for eco-friendly mobility and synergies between modes of transport” (led by the Maurienne Country Association)

4. "CoeurAlp SOLIDARITY" to “ensure access to essential services” (led by the Metropolitan City of Turin)